updated 11:40 am EDT, Wed March 12, 2008

Apple Australia

Apple has added a third store to its opening roster for Australia for this year. The company now plans to debut two stores in Sydney in the CBD and in Chatswood and another in Chadstone, Victoria. The Sydney Morning Heraldreports that Apple is now putting the finishing touches on its three-level flagship store in the Sydney CBD, located on the corner of George Street and King Street. That store will reportedly sport the transparent glass edifice made famous at other flagship stores, along with a large, white suspended Apple logo. Sydney's store will also feature a glass staircase, which will connect the three levels. The store is expected to be open by June.

The Chatswood store will be located in the Chatswood Chase Shopping Centre, while the Chadstone store will open in the Chadstone Shopping Centre. Although talk had originally pointed to a streetfront store for Chadstone, the beginning of Apple's presence in the city can be found inside the Chadstone Shopping Center, where a construction barrier marked "Apple opening soon" has been erected in front of an outlet next to Nike Women. The location is said to be two to two-and-a-half times wider than most normal ones in the mall.

Chadstone is home to some 450 shops and restaurants, and recently underwent an $88 million renovation which may have lured Apple in. Notably, there is already an authorized Apple reseller in the mall, Computers Now -- its operators are reportedly denying any suggestions, however, that they are the ones engaged in the construction, or that they will be moving in response to a direct Apple presence.

As with any store openings, Apple's Australia plans are cause for concern for some local Mac resellers "By opening its own stores locally, Apple would encroach on the market of those resellers. In other countries, this has caused a significant number of them to close down," reports the Herald.